Iverson says he doesn't want to come off the bench and he would rather retire so I have to believe him there. I personally would not start Iverson, but we probably would have to if we get him..

-To be honest, Iverson/Kobe/Gasol cannot all co-exist together. Lets just look at the number of shots people take. Kobe obviously takes 19-20 shots a game. Gasol takes about 14-15. That is 33-34 right there. Then you add in Bynum's 10 shots a game with Ariza/Sasha/Fisher/Farmar's ~30 shots combined.. That is just ~75 shots from Kobe/Gasol/Bynum/Ariza/Sasha/Farmar/Fisher alone. How many shots do you expect AI to get without taking shots away from the other guys???

-What about playing time? It would take minutes away from Fisher/Farmar/Sasha and perhaps even Kobe (I don't mind this). Is AI really worth it in the end? Benching AI is troublesome too because he EXPECTS to get playing time as a superstar. You would have to give AI a minimum of 30 minutes of playing time per game.

-Somebody mentioned that A.I could play SG, but AI is not big or strong enough to guard MOST of the other SGs in the league. Do you REALLY want AI to be playing SG with somebody like Fisher/Farmar in the back-court? You would not be able to play Fisher or Farmar alongside AI against most nba teams because of AI's size/length. AI is not a true PG so you are in a situation where you have to either force him into the system even though he doesn't fit; Fortunately, this is not a problem in triangle because Fisher is not a true PG either. Unfortunately, I still do not believe that AI could play SG alongside Fisher/Farmar. One of those 2 will have to be taken out of the picture pretty much. This goes back to my previous question: 30 MPG for AI then you had 18 left for other PG..

-What about Kobe's ego and AI's ego? Can it work together in the locker-room? The team seems to be going pretty smoothly currently without any locker-room problems that we know of. Getting AI could POSSIBLY change that. Is that worth the risk of getting AI?

This raises more questions than answers. To be honest, I would rather give Odom the full MLE if he takes it than AI...

Iverson says he doesn't want to come off the bench and he would rather retire so I have to believe him there. I personally would not start Iverson, but we probably would have to if we get him..

-To be honest, Iverson/Kobe/Gasol cannot all co-exist together. Lets just look at the number of shots people take. Kobe obviously takes 19-20 shots a game. Gasol takes about 14-15. That is 33-34 right there. Then you add in Bynum's 10 shots a game with Ariza/Sasha/Fisher/Farmar's ~30 shots combined.. That is just ~75 shots from Kobe/Gasol/Bynum/Ariza/Sasha/Farmar/Fisher alone. How many shots do you expect AI to get without taking shots away from the other guys???

-What about playing time? It would take minutes away from Fisher/Farmar/Sasha and perhaps even Kobe (I don't mind this). Is AI really worth it in the end? Benching AI is troublesome too because he EXPECTS to get playing time as a superstar. You would have to give AI a minimum of 30 minutes of playing time per game.

-Somebody mentioned that A.I could play SG, but AI is not big or strong enough to guard MOST of the other SGs in the league. Do you REALLY want AI to be playing SG with somebody like Fisher/Farmar in the back-court? You would not be able to play Fisher or Farmar alongside AI against most nba teams because of AI's size/length. AI is not a true PG so you are in a situation where you have to either force him into the system even though he doesn't fit; Fortunately, this is not a problem in triangle because Fisher is not a true PG either. Unfortunately, I still do not believe that AI could play SG alongside Fisher/Farmar. One of those 2 will have to be taken out of the picture pretty much. This goes back to my previous question: 30 MPG for AI then you had 18 left for other PG..

-What about Kobe's ego and AI's ego? Can it work together in the locker-room? The team seems to be going pretty smoothly currently without any locker-room problems that we know of. Getting AI could POSSIBLY change that. Is that worth the risk of getting AI?

This raises more questions than answers. To be honest, I would rather give Odom the full MLE if he takes it than AI...

Broken down perfectly, agree 100%

Like SocalMike said, Billups is the guard I would drool over getting on this team (not to mention Chris Paul) - but that doesn't have any shot of happening.

actually i'm still on the fence..my first reaction would to say "no" but there is something intriging about the idea...
like i said in my OP i think some of the baggage iverson carries is not of his own making i think it's media generated.. yes he did make some mistakes when he was younger... so have other players, some who are on the lakers.

but still i sit on the fence on this subject...

so you think he's good in the locker room? as a leader? as someone who can follow?

other than kobe and fish you don't think the lakers gaurd position is broken?

sasha
farmar
sun yue
brown

But is AI the correct answer? Are we willing to let Odom go for AI? There is no way the front office will be willing to keep Odom and also get AI with Bynum's contract kicking in next season.

The Lakers made their choice at the guard position by giving Sasha and Farmar their contracts. They also plan on moving Farmar to starter position once Fisher retires. You are correct that Farmar/Sasha have not played well this season; they need to pick it up a notch to how they were last season (It's not like they forgot how to play basketball like they did last season: it is all about mentality and how they approach the game.. hopefully it will change). Anyways, we will probably need some veteran that can either be a backup PG or somebody like Fisher that can take the starting position in the near future. The question then becomes: How does AI compare to Fisher? Would AI be willing to take the role of Fisher and sacrifice his scoring, minutes and superstar status? AI has never played in a Fisher-like role before. The closest he has come is this season with Detroit and his response to that was that he would rather retire than come off the bench.. Do we really want that kind of player in our locker-room to be one of our leaders on the team?

while i would love to see it. who wouldnt want great stars on the team i dont think it would work. i think he would do better in the 2nd unit. someone who can score when pau and kobe are out but he wont take that roll. we already need to get pau more looks a night. you can only have so many scorers on the floor at once. i dont know at this point in time i think save the money vs spending on him.

Quote:

I would rather give Odom the full MLE if he takes it than AI...

unless i am wrong odom doesnt count against the MLE since he is already on our team. thats for new players coming to the team.

actually i'm still on the fence..my first reaction would to say "no" but there is something intriging about the idea...
like i said in my OP i think some of the baggage iverson carries is not of his own making i think it's media generated.. yes he did make some mistakes when he was younger... so have other players, some who are on the lakers.

I love AI, but honestly I would really have to think about this for a while. It is a tough one, and as people have pointed out, the GP/Malone memory exists. Rodaman too for that matter. I feel protective of our thing